Kaiser Permanente names new CEO, new venture fund closes with $141M
Kaiser Permanente has named Gregory A. Adams as its new permanent CEO and chairman. Adams was serving as interim CEO following the death of Kaiser’s former leader, Bernard Tyson, in November.
Kaiser Permanente, based in California, is one of the nation’s largest non-profit healthcare providers, serving more than 12.2 million members and generating more than $82 billion in annual revenue. Adams was appointed by the Kaiser Foundation Health Plan and Hospitals Board of Directors.
Adams served as executive vice president and group president of Kaiser since 2016, and he has 30 years of leadership experience as a senior healthcare executive.
“Mr. Adams is an accomplished leader with deep experience across Kaiser Permanente’s health plan and hospital operations,” Edward Pei, chair of the executive committee and governance, accountability, and nominating committee of the boards of directors, said in a statement. “For more than a decade, Mr. Adams worked on a wide variety of major initiatives and areas of focus, and has led Kaiser Permanente’s work on growing membership, affordability for our members, and transforming and expanding access to care.”
In addition, Kaiser Permanente Ventures, the venture capital arm of Kaiser Permanente, closed its fifth investment fund with $141 million, upping the total assets under management to more than $500 million.
Among the investors of the new fund are Kaiser Permanente, Tufts Health Plan, Henry Ford Health System and a subsidiary of Highmark Health, Highmark Ventures.
The fund will focus on investments supporting the growth of innovative companies addressing healthcare system needs. KPV was founded 20 years ago and has been investing in healthcare innovations since. The investments are specifically within health information technology, digital health, healthcare services, medical devices, diagnostics and precision medicine.
"We are in the midst of a tremendous opportunity as the U.S. health care system transitions to value-based care," Chris Grant, executive vice president and chief operating officer, The Permanente Federation, and co-founder, KPV, said in a statement. "To succeed in this shift, and to help Kaiser Permanente advance its own efforts to deliver high-quality, accessible, and cost-effective care, we continue to find and fund the innovations and entrepreneurs that understand where the system is headed and that can enable its future success."
Amy joined TriMed Media as a Senior Writer for HealthExec after covering home care for three years. When not writing about all things healthcare, she fulfills her lifelong dream of becoming a pirate by sailing in regattas and enjoying rum. Fun fact: she sailed 333 miles across Lake Michigan in the Chicago Yacht Club "Race to Mackinac."